New Laws To Crack Down On Illegal Immigrants In Ireland

Government's Plans Cause Outrage Among Civil Rights Groups

The Irish government will introduce tough new measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants in the country. Under the new proposals, which will come into force early next year, non-EU nationals will be forced to carry biometric ID cards, be banned from marrying in Ireland and have a legal obligation to leave the country.

The hard-line law will also give authorities the power to summarily deport people entering illegally, without a tribunal.

The plans, drawn up by Justice Minister, Michael McDowell and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, have met with broad political approval in Ireland, but have caused outrage among civil liberty and refugee groups.

The Justice Department refused to comment on the proposals, though sources within it confirmed that the leaked details were accurate. The proposals are the first major anti-immigration bill to be enacted in Ireland, which has a relatively lax and liberal immigration policy.

Fine Gael TD and justice spokesman, Jim O'Keefe, said that his party welcomed the move, particularly the abolition of the Appeals Tribunal, which he described as "a lucrative cash cow for friends of the Government". Mr O'Keefe also said he had no problem with the ID-cards plan, but expressed concern about its potential cost to the taxpayer. However, he said there was little point in introducing the crackdown when the Government was unable to say how many illegal immigrants were currently in the country despite the fact that they should have been considered for deportation after serving prison sentences.

However the Irish Refugees Council (IRC) warned that refusing immigrants the right of entry and deporting them without tribunal is a violation of international law. "Under international law all people seeking asylum and refuge in a country must be give the opportunity to present their cases heard first," said spokeswoman Louise Moor.

"Any suggestion that non EU citizens could be summarily deported simply doesn't stand up to internation law"

The IRC also criticized the plans as 'discriminatory'.

"Clearly the plans involve just one section of society being singled out for special attention and being forced to carry around ID cards.

"That will create an unhelpful image in people's minds and quickly and easily lead to a 'them and us' mindset".

In recent weeks, especially since the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners, there has been growing concern in Ireland about the country's vulnerability to a terror attack. That fear is largely based on the number of non-nationals now working and living in the state.

However official figures for 2005 show that 4,320 people sought asylum in Ireland, a tiny fraction of those who came to the country that year. Labour TD, Brendan Howlin, the party's justice spokesman, said the leak of the proposals to the media came at a time when Michael McDowell was under increasing political pressure.

"There is some merit in some of the proposals but the proper venue for debating this is not through a leaked document to a favored media source," he said.

"Michael McDowell has had a torrid feew weeks and failed to deal with a lot of issues, so perhaps he is presenting the bull as a political counterweight".